Several Armed Services Committee members took to the opinion pages Monday to draw a line in the sand over more defense cuts and highlight the dire consequences of cutting an already strapped force.
“It’s so big [the defense budget] that you can make relatively modest changes to defense that end up giving you a lot of headroom to fund things like basic research or student loans or things like that.” -President Obama, July 6, 2011 |
In a Washington Times op-ed published Tuesday, Chairman McKeon wrote that recent successes in Afghanistan should not be used as justification for withdrawing from Afghanistan. He argued progress in Afghanistan is fragile and reversible and should be vigorously protected:
“It’s so big [the defense budget] that you can make relatively modest changes to defense that end up giving you a lot of headroom to fund things like basic research or student loans or things like that.” -President Obama, July 6, 2011
Wednesday night, the President announced an aggressive drawdown that appears to conform to a politically motivated timetable set out in 2009. This drawdown will remove 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, followed by 23,000 more by summer 2012.
Admiral Mullen Testifies to House Armed Services Committee about Drawdown Plan
A recent article in the Weekly Standard extolled the defense funding levels agreed to in the U.S. House and commended the Armed Services Committee and Chairman Buck McKeon for his work.